Rev. Otis Moss (Courtesy Cleveland Plan Dealer)
Otis Moss compares Wright to Jesus, backs up predecessor on AIDS, drugs
The man slated to become chief pastor at the Trinity United Church of Christ has called blacks "lepers" with a "skin disease," claimed U.S. entertainment corporations operate with "disdain" for black people, and in a fiery
sermon claimed retired pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright was "lynched" by the media and compared the embattled pastor to Jesus.
Otis Moss III, lauded this week by Obama as a "wonderful young pastor,"
also recently refused to deny claims by Wright that the U.S. government was involved in distributing illegal drugs to minorities or spreading the AIDS virus to blacks.
The 37-year-old Moss, nicknamed the "hip-hop pastor" by congregants, will become the head of Trinity Christ in June, taking over for Wright, whose controversial remarks landed Obama in hot water.
Obama strongly denounced some of Wright's statements as "divisive and destructive."